On May 8, a meeting between Chairman of the State Duma Viacheslav Volodin
Vyacheslav Victorovich
The Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of the eighth convocation. Elected in single mandate constituency № 163 (Saratov constituency - Saratov Oblast)
and Speaker
of the National Council of the Slovak Republic Andrej Danko was held in the State Duma. During the meeting, the parties discussed inter-parliamentary
interaction between Russia and Slovakia.
Andrej Danko and Viacheslav Volodin noted the dynamic development of relations between the two countries and the need for more effective cooperation between the parliaments of Russia and Slovakia.
Andrej Danko arrived in Moscow upon the invitation of Viacheslav Volodin to take part in the Victory Parade on May 9 as an honorary guest.
About anti-Russian sanctions
The Speaker of the National Council of Slovakia decorated the lapel of his jacket with the St. George ribbon – the traditional symbol of the Great Victory. Andrej Danko said that in Slovakia today is a public holiday, the Day of Liberation of the country from fascist Germany. “Without your fathers, your mothers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers, we would not enjoy freedom now,” he noted.
On behalf of the Slovak Parliament, he sincerely thanked for the opportunity to ”take part in the biggest Russian holiday – Victory Day.“ “Tomorrow I will bend my head to commemorate your heroism, your historical fight, this
important historical moment, and thank you for the opportunity to live in peace
and freedom,” said Andrej Danko.
“In one of my speeches in Slovakia, I said: do not judge Russia if you cannot assess what they think, feel, what core they have, what they have inside and how they can love,” said Andrej Danko.
“I will always fight to ensure that European nations […] have contacts with the Russian Federation. I will always say that the existing sanctions are a big nonsense. I hope that relations between Europe and Russia will improve in the near future,” he stressed.
Andrej Danko also expressed hope that in June they a meeting of Russian and Slovak businessmen will be organized. The Speaker of the National Council of Slovakia said that he had discussed this topic with Denis Manturov, Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation.
A special day in the lives of all people
“For us, tomorrow is a special day in the life of the people of Russia, and, as you rightly noted today, this is a special day in the life of all people,” said Viacheslav Volodin. He reminded that 63 thousand Soviet soldiers gave their lives, liberating Slovakia. “Today we remember their deed and once again say that without their self-sacrifice, without what they managed to do then, fighting against fascism, we simply do not see future,” said the Chairman of the State Duma.
Viacheslav Volodin thanked Andrej Danko that he found possibility to come to Moscow and join those who would come to Red Square tomorrow to “honor the memory of those who died defending their Motherland, those who brought peace to Europe, defending everyone from fascism, from extirpation.“
“The deed of our soldiers binds us to a large extent,” said Viacheslav Volodin.
He noted that “on the one hand, we celebrate the victory and the liberation of the world from the fascist plague, and, on the other hand, we commemorate the victors, our great-grandfathers, grandfathers, our loved ones, those who gave their lives, so that we live in peace today.“
“For our part, we must do everything to develop and strengthen relations between our countries. Today it was nice to hear from the Speaker of the Slovak Parliament that you have a great desire to develop these relations within the parliamentary dimension, as part of humanitarian projects,” said the Chairman of the State Duma and stressed that “within inter-parliamentary relations we can do a lot for our relations to develop dynamically.“
